Porter targets early return

Gold Coast United is breathing a sigh of relief after scans on Monday revealed striker Joel Porter's calf injury is not as bad as first thought.

Gold Coast United is breathing a sigh of relief after scans on Monday revealed striker Joel Porter's calf injury is not as bad as first thought.

The 30-year-old played just 19 minutes of his team's 2-1 win over Sydney FC on Saturday night before limping off the ground with what was initially feared to be a seven-week injury.

Instead, the former Socceroo is now expected to be back on the park in three weeks after GCU physiotherapist David Battersby diagnosed the injury as a grade one tear.

Porter will begin rehabilitation immediately and is likely to resume running as early as next week, with a return date set for the Round 8 clash with Melbourne Victory on September 26.

"You don't want to be injured at any time, but I guess the only bonus is that it's not a full muscle tear, just a minor one and I should be back soon," Porter said.

"I don't really recall any particular moment when I felt it go. We had a corner that was cleared and when I went to take off it just didn't feel right."

"Rather than playing on and maybe making it worse I decided to deal with it straight away, which of course was best for me and best for the team because I wasn't 100 percent."

"You have to be careful with muscle tear injuries. I've had them before and know that caution is required or they can get worse very quickly if you play on."

"It's frustrating of course - I was doing most things right on the field and it's going well for both me and the team. The good thing for the team is that we have players who can come in and do the job - that's what having a good squad is all about."